JP3869623B2 - Leg massage unit and massage machine equipped with the same - Google Patents

Description

[0001]
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a leg massage unit capable of effectively massaging the lower leg of a user and a massage machine including the leg massage unit.
[0002]
[Prior art]
There are chair-type and bed-type massage machines that massage the upper body of the user, specifically the neck, shoulder, and waist.
These massage machines are equipped with a leg massage unit that massages not only the upper body of the user but also the lower body, specifically the lower leg of the calf, etc. There is also.
The leg massage unit includes a roller type and a vibration type.
The roller-type massage unit for legs is to rotate a disk or a cylindrical rotating body in contact with the lower leg, and the vibration type generates vibration by rotating a rotating body having an eccentric weight, Massages calves and the like.
[0003]
[Problems to be solved by the invention]
Since the conventional leg massage unit rotates the rotating body at a fixed position, it is necessary for the user to move his / her body position to massage the desired position. In addition, since the operation speed and treatment strength of the rotating body are constant, it is monotonous, and long-time massage may cause tiredness or discomfort, and the massage effect may be diminished.
[0004]
An object of the present invention, while moving over a wide range of lower leg of the user, by massaging by changing the operating speed of the treatment body, not come tired, be subjected to a pleasant effective lower leg massage A massage unit equipped with a leg massage unit that can relieve fatigue and stiffness not only in the lower leg but also in the whole body by relaxing the stiffness of the muscles near the ankle where lactic acid tends to accumulate It is to be.
[0005]
[Means for Solving the Problems]
In order to solve the above problems, a leg massage unit (10) according to the present invention is a leg massage unit that is provided in a leg rest (20) for placing a lower leg of a user and massages the lower leg of the user. There,
A treatment body (40) capable of swinging and reciprocating along the lower leg within the leg rest (20),
Rocking means (42) for rocking the treatment body (40);
Reciprocating means (44) for reciprocating the treatment body (40);
A motor for driving the swinging means (42) and the reciprocating means (44) ;
Control means (90) for changing the operating speed of the treatment body (40 ) by the swing means (42) ,
The control means (90) changes the swing speed of the treatment body (40 ) by the swing means (42) according to the position of the treatment body (40) by the reciprocation means (44 ) , and The position is controlled to be faster as it approaches the ankle side of the lower leg of the user.
[0007]
[Action and effect]
Since the treatment body (40) can be reciprocated along the lower leg of the user by the reciprocating means (44), massage can be performed over a wide range of the lower leg.
Further, since the operation speed of the treatment body (40) by the swinging means (42) can be changed by the control means (90) according to the position of the treatment body (40) by the reciprocation means (44) , the massage operation Is not monotonous and you can get a comfortable massage without getting bored.
[0008]
In particular, when the treatment body (40) approaches the ankle side of the lower leg by the reciprocating means (44), the swinging speed of the treatment body (40) by the swinging means (42) is controlled to increase. Therefore , it is possible to massage the vicinity of the ankle strongly. One of the causes of fatigue and stiffness is lactic acid produced in large quantities from glycogen in the muscle accompanying muscle movement. It is known that a large amount of this lactic acid accumulates in the vicinity of the ankle. Therefore, as described above, when the area around the ankle is strongly massaged, the stiffness of the muscles near the ankle is resolved, blood circulation is promoted, lactic acid is dispersed, and fatigue and stiffness of the whole body as well as the lower leg can be eliminated. .
[0009]
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
An example in which the leg massage unit (10) of the present invention is mounted on a chair-type massage machine (12) will be described. In addition, it is not limited to a chair type, It can mount in a bed type massage machine, a nursing bed, etc.
[0010]
As shown in FIG. 1, the massage machine (12) has a seat (16) on which the user sits, a backrest (17) formed upward from the rear end of the seat (16), a seat An armrest (18) formed upward is provided on the left and right sides of the part (16). At the front end of the seat, a leg rest (20) for receiving the calf of the user is provided so as to be able to rotate and position. The seat (16), backrest (17), armrest (18) and leg rest (20) are formed by connecting metal pipes, frames or plates, etc. Yes.
[0011]
A known massage unit (not shown) for massaging the upper body from the neck of the user to the shoulder, back, and waist can be mounted inside the backrest (17).
[0012]
A pair of legrest frames (24) are connected to the tip of the frame (22) of the seat portion. As shown in FIG. 1, the leg rest frame (24) is substantially flush with the seat section (16) from the state in which it is accommodated substantially downward with respect to the seat section frame (22). It can be rotated and positioned within a substantially lateral range.
[0013]
As shown in FIG. 2 and FIG. 3, a lower surface cover (30) of the footrest (20) is provided on the leg mounting frame (24), and the lower surface cover (30) includes a base frame (32). Is slidably mounted. When the base frame (32) is slid forward with respect to the lower surface cover (30), the leg rest (20) moves forward with respect to the seat (16) as shown in FIG.
An opening (33) is formed in the center of the base frame (32), and a base plate (34) described later is slidably fitted into the opening (33).
[0014]
As shown in FIG. 2, the base plate (34) is slidably fitted into the opening (33) of the base frame (32), and reciprocates and swings between the pair of left and right treatment bodies (40) and (40). A leg massage unit (10) is mounted.
In the center of the base plate (34), a mounting frame (46) is disposed downward, and a motor (48) serving as a drive source is disposed in the mounting frame (46).
The motor (48) can rotate forward and backward, and the rotation of the motor (48) is detected by an encoder (54) described later and transmitted as a pulse signal to a control means (90) described later.
[0015]
Hereinafter, the drive mechanism of the leg massage unit (10) will be described.
As shown in FIG. 4, the pulley (52) of the drive shaft (50) of the motor (48), and the pulley (58) provided at one end of the rotating shaft (56) pivotally supported by the mounting frame (46) Between them, a belt (59) is hung so that power can be transmitted. The encoder (54) is arranged close to the pulley (58), and the rotation of the motor (48) is replaced with the rotation of the rotating shaft (56) to detect.
As shown in FIG. 4, eccentric shafts (60) and (60) are respectively provided on the inner side and the other end side of the pulley (58) of the rotating shaft (56). A crank plate (62) is supported on the shaft. As shown in FIG. 3, the crank plates (62) and (62) support the swing levers (68) and (68) via shafts (64) and (64) and spherical bearings (66) and (66), respectively. Yes. One end of the swing lever (68) (68) is pivotally supported (67) by the mounting frame (46), and the substantially central position of the swing lever (68) (68) is the spherical bearing (66) (66). Are connected to the shafts (64) and (64), and the treatment bodies (40) and (40) are pivotally supported (41) at the other ends, respectively. The treatment bodies (40) and (40) are bent in a U shape, and the seesaw arm (70) pivotally supported by the swing lever (68) at the bent part and both ends of the seesaw arm (70). It consists of treatment bars (72) and (72) pivotally supported on. The treatment rods (72) and (72) can be exemplified by resin cylinders whose diameter is increased outward as shown in FIG. Note that the diameter of the treatment rods (72) and (72) was expanded outward because the user placed the lower leg on the treatment rods (72) and (72) and shaken the treatment rods (72) and (72). This is to prevent the lower leg from falling off the treatment rods (72) and (72) when moved.
When the motor (48) is rotated with respect to the swinging means (42) having the above configuration, the rotating shaft (56) rotates, the eccentric shafts (60) and (60) rotate eccentrically, and the swinging lever (68) ( 68) is swung, and the treatment bodies (40), (40) disposed on the rocking levers (68), (68) swing. The treatment bodies (40) and (40) swing and move regardless of whether the motor (48) rotates forward or backward.
[0016]
As shown in FIG. 4, a gear (74) is provided at one end of the rotating shaft (56). The gear (74) rotates integrally with the rotating shaft (56) when the motor (48) rotates forward, but rotates idle when the motor (48) rotates in the reverse direction and does not transmit the rotation of the rotating shaft (56). As you can see, it has a one-way clutch inside.
The rotation of the gear (74) is transmitted to the large gear (75) linked to the gear (74). A worm (76) is connected to the large gear (75), and a worm wheel (77) is connected to the worm (76). As shown in FIG. 4, a crankshaft (78) is connected to the worm wheel (77).
The crankshaft (78) penetrates the base plate (34) and protrudes upward, and the tip of the crank arm (79) formed at the upper end of the crankshaft (78) is shown in FIGS. As shown, the crank rod (80) is pivotally supported. The other end of the crank rod (80) is pivotally supported by a bracket (82) formed at the upper front end of the base frame (32).
In the reciprocating means (44) configured as described above, when the motor (48) is rotated forward, the gear (74) rotates integrally with the drive shaft (50), and the crankshaft (78) rotates. Since one end of the crank rod (80) is pivotally supported by the base frame (32), when the crank shaft (78) is rotated, the base plate (34) slidably disposed on the base frame (32) reciprocates. Exercise.
When the motor (48) is reversely rotated, the one-way clutch is idled and the gear (74) does not rotate, so the base plate (34) does not move.
[0017]
As shown in FIG. 5, a position detection switch (84) for detecting the rotation of the crank arm (79) is provided on the upper surface of the base plate (34). The position detection switch (84) is arranged so that the contact portion (86) of the switch (84) contacts the crank arm (79) when the base plate (34) moves to the rearmost (knee side). 79) is deployed in the rotational transition path. The position detection switch (84) is connected to the control means (90) described later, and transmits a signal to the control means (90) when the contact portion (86) contacts the crank arm (79).
[0018]
The leg massage unit (10) is controlled by the control means (90).
As shown in FIG. 7, the control means (90) is composed mainly of a microcomputer (92). The microcomputer (92) includes a motor drive circuit (94) for controlling the motor (48) and an operation unit I / F circuit (98) for receiving a signal from the operation unit (96) for the user to select a massage operation. The encoder (54) for detecting the rotation of the motor (48) and the position detection switch (84) are connected. The microcomputer (92) is provided with a counter (not shown) that counts encoder pulses from the encoder (54). The pulse count value Pnow of the counter is cleared (Pnow = 0) when the position detection switch (84) detects the crank arm (79).
By counting the number of encoder pulses with the position detection switch (84) detecting the origin position, i.e., the state where the treatment bodies (40) and (40) are located on the most knee side, the treatment body (40 ) (40) reciprocating position is detected. For example, when the number of pulses Pnow detected when the treatment bodies (40) and (40) reciprocate once is 90 pulses, and the Pnow is smaller than 45 pulses, the treatment bodies (40) and (40) are directed toward the ankle. When Pnow = 45 pulses, the treatment body (40) (40) is located on the most ankle side, and when Pnow exceeds 45 pulses, the treatment body (40) (40 ) Is moving toward the knee side.
[0019]
For the massage unit configured as described above, when the user operates the operation unit (96) and performs reciprocating rocking massage by the treatment body (40) (40), a motor drive circuit ( 94) issues an operation command to rotate the motor (48) in the forward rotation direction, and as shown in FIG. 6, the treatment body (40) (40) performs a swinging massage while reciprocating. To apply. When rocking massage by the treatment body (40) (40) is selected, an operation command for rotating the motor (48) in the reverse direction is issued from the motor drive circuit (94), and the treatment body (40) (40) A rocking massage is given.
[0020]
Hereinafter, typical massage operations will be described.
<Operation 1>
The operation 1 is one of the massage operations of the present invention. In the reciprocal swing massage of the lower leg, the massage operation increases the swing speed as approaching the ankle side. The rotation speed of the motor (48) is shown in FIG. As shown in the figure, control is performed so as to be minimum on the knee side and maximum on the ankle side.
Hereinafter, description will be made with reference to the flowchart of FIG.
When the user selects the massage of operation 1, the motor (48) rotates normally, and as described above, the treatment bodies (40) and (40) reciprocate and swing. In the following, it is assumed that the operation starts from the origin position (position where the treatment body is closest to the knee side: encoder pulse Pnow = 0).
When the position detection switch (84) detects the home position (step 1), the counter value Pnow of the microcomputer (92) is cleared (step 2), and the motor (48) is rotated at the rotational speed corresponding to Pnow (see FIG. 9). Rotate. When Pnow = 0, the motor (48) rotates at the slowest speed. Due to the low speed rotation of the motor (48), the treatment bodies (40) and (40) start moving toward the ankle at a low speed and apply a swing massage to the lower leg at a low speed.
When the motor (48) rotates, a motor pulse is detected from the encoder (54) (step 3). The microcomputer (92) counts up the motor pulse (step 4), and rotates the motor (48) at the rotational speed shown in FIG. 9 each time the pulse is detected. Specifically, as shown in FIG. 9, the rotational speed of the motor (48) is increased as the number of pulses increases. By increasing the rotational speed of the motor (48) as the treatment bodies (40) (40) approach the ankle side, a strong rocking massage can be applied to the ankle side.
[0021]
When the treatment bodies (40) and (40) reach the ankle side (Pnow = 45), the treatment bodies (40) and (40) start moving toward the knee side by the crank motion. At the time of movement toward the knee side, contrary to the above, a weak swing massage is performed on the knee side by gradually decreasing the rotation speed of the motor (48).
[0022]
As mentioned above, by applying a strong rocking massage on the ankle side and a weak rocking massage on the knee side, blood circulation in the vicinity of the ankle is promoted, and lactic acid that causes fatigue and stiffness is dispersed. Can relieve fatigue and stiffness of the whole body as well as lower legs.
[0023]
<Operation 2>
Operation 2 is a massage operation in which the swing speed is increased only when approaching the knee side in the reciprocal swing massage of the lower leg, and the rotation speed of the motor (48) is changed from the knee side to the ankle as shown in FIG. Control is made so that the speed is low when moving toward the side, and the speed is gradually increased when moving from the ankle side to the knee side. The control flow is the same as in operation 1.
When the user selects the massage of operation 2, the motor (48) is rotated forward to reciprocate the treatment bodies (40) and (40) and swing them.
When the position detection switch (84) detects the origin position (step 1), the counter value Pnow of the microcomputer (92) is cleared (step 2), and the motor (48) is rotated at the rotation speed corresponding to Pnow (see FIG. 10). Rotate. When Pnow = 0, the motor (48) rotates at the lowest speed. Due to the low speed rotation of the motor (48), the treatment bodies (40) and (40) start moving toward the ankle at a low speed and apply a swing massage to the lower leg at a low speed.
When the motor (48) rotates, a motor pulse is detected from the encoder (54) (step 3). The microcomputer (92) counts up the motor pulse (step 4) and rotates the motor (48) at a low speed until the treatment bodies (40) and (40) reach the ankle side.
[0024]
When the treatment bodies (40) and (40) reach the ankle side (Pnow = 45), the treatment bodies (40) and (40) start moving toward the knee side by the crank motion. When moving toward the knee, the rotational speed of the motor (48) is increased as the number of pulses increases. As the treatment bodies (40), (40) approach the knee side, the rotational speed of the motor (48) is increased, whereby blood is pushed up from the lower leg toward the upper leg, and blood circulation in the lower leg is promoted.
[0025]
As described above, by applying rocking massage that gradually increases from the ankle side to the knee side, blood circulation of the lower leg is promoted, and fatigue and stiffness of the whole body as well as the lower leg can be eliminated.
[0026]
<< Operation 3 >>
Operation 3 is one of the massage operations of the present invention. In the reciprocating rocking massage of operation 1, the reciprocating motion of the treatment bodies (40) (40) is temporarily stopped on the ankle side, and the ankle side is rocked for a predetermined time. This is a massage in which a dynamic massage is performed, and in particular, a massage in which an ankle swinging massage is performed with emphasis. It is the same as the operation 1 except that the reciprocation of the treatment bodies (40) (40) is temporarily stopped on the ankle side.
As shown in FIG. 11, when the treatment bodies (40) (40) reach the ankle side (Pnow = 45), the rotation of the motor (48) is reversed. When the motor (48) is reversely rotated, the reciprocating motion of the treatment bodies (40) (40) is stopped and only the swinging motion is performed. It is desirable to set the rotation speed of the motor (48) at a high speed.
In this state, after performing rocking massage on the ankle side for a predetermined time (about 3 to 6 seconds), the rotation of the motor (48) is reversed again to perform normal rotation, and toward the knee side as in the operation 1 A reciprocating rocking massage is performed while gradually reducing the rotation speed of the motor (48).
[0027]
As mentioned above, by stopping reciprocation on the ankle side and giving rocking massage mainly on the ankle side, blood circulation near the ankle is further promoted, lactic acid that causes fatigue and stiffness is dispersed, and the lower leg As well as fatigue and stiffness of the whole body can be eliminated.
[0028]
In addition, the massage of the said operation | movement 3 can be made into a more effective massage by making 1 period correspond with a human respiration cycle (about 10 seconds).
[0029]
<Operation 4>
Operation 4 is a massage in which the treatment body (40) (40) is moved to the site of the lower leg desired by the user so that the swing massage is performed at the desired position.
Hereinafter, description will be made with reference to the flowchart of FIG.
The user inputs a desired massage position to the control means (90) through the operation unit (96) in advance. For example, an ankle side, a knee side, and an intermediate position thereof can be set as desired positions. When a desired massage position is input, the control means 90 will change the pulse number A corresponding to that position (Pnow = 45 for the ankle side, Pnow = 0 for the knee side, Pnow = 22 for the intermediate position, etc. ) Is calculated.
When the user selects the massage of operation 4, the motor (48) is rotated forward at a low speed (step 17), and the treatment bodies (40) and (40) are reciprocated and swinged.
When the position detection switch (84) detects the origin position (step 11), the counter value Pnow of the microcomputer (92) is cleared (step 12). Further, when the motor (48) rotates, a motor pulse is detected from the encoder (54) (step 13). The microcomputer (92) counts up the motor pulses (step 14), and the treatment bodies (40) (40) move toward the ankle side.
[0030]
When the treatment body (40) (40) moves to the lower leg desired by the user, that is, when the pulse number Pnow matches the predetermined pulse number A (step 15), the rotation of the motor (48) is reversed. Thus, the reciprocating movement of the treatment bodies (40), (40) is stopped, and the motor (48) is rotated in a pattern as shown in FIG. 13 to swing and massage the desired leg part (step 16).
By applying massage only to the part desired by the user, it is possible to perform particularly effective massage, and it is possible to eliminate fatigue and stiffness of the whole body as well as the lower leg.
It should be noted that the massage pattern cycle can be made more effective by matching the human breathing cycle (about 10 seconds) as in the operation 3.
[0031]
The above description of the embodiments is for explaining the present invention, and should not be construed as limiting the invention described in the claims or reducing the scope thereof. Moreover, each part structure of this invention is not restricted to the said Example, A various deformation | transformation is possible within the technical scope as described in a claim.
[Brief description of the drawings]
FIG. 1 is a side view of a chair type massage machine.
FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view of the leg massage unit of the present invention cut in the left-right direction.
FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view of the leg massage unit of the present invention cut in the front-rear direction.
FIG. 4 is a perspective view showing a drive mechanism of a leg massage unit according to the present invention.
FIG. 5 is a plan view of the leg massage unit of the present invention.
FIG. 6 is an explanatory view showing a state in which a lower leg of a user is being massaged.
FIG. 7 is a circuit diagram of a control unit.
FIG. 8 is a flowchart of operation 1;
FIG. 9 is a graph showing the relationship between the pulse count value of operation 1 and the rotation speed of the motor.
FIG. 10 is a graph showing the relationship between the pulse count value of operation 2 and the rotational speed of the motor.
FIG. 11 is a graph showing the relationship between the pulse count value of operation 3 and the rotational speed of the motor.
FIG. 12 is a flowchart of the operation 4;
13 is a graph showing the relationship between the rotational speed of the motor and the time in operation 4. FIG.
[Explanation of symbols]
(10) Leg massage unit
(40) Treatment body
(42) Swing means
(44) Reciprocating means
(90) Control means

Claims (2)

A leg massage unit that is deployed in the leg rest (20) for placing the lower leg of the user and massages the lower leg of the user,
A treatment body (40) capable of swinging and reciprocating along the lower leg within the leg rest (20),
Rocking means (42) for rocking the treatment body (40);
Reciprocating means (44) for reciprocating the treatment body (40);
A motor for driving the swinging means (42) and the reciprocating means (44) ;
Control means (90) for changing the operating speed of the treatment body (40 ) by the swing means (42) ,
The control means (90) changes the swing speed of the treatment body (40 ) by the swing means (42) according to the position of the treatment body (40) by the reciprocation means (44 ) , and A leg massage unit , wherein the position is controlled to increase as the position approaches the ankle side of the lower leg of the user . The seat of the chair on which the user sits (16) On the tip of the leg to support the lower leg (20) Can be rotated in a range from substantially downward to substantially lateral, (20) The leg massage unit according to claim 1 inside (Ten) Equipped with a massage machine.

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